Amaranthine
by Touch of Gray
Summary: He has a strange feeling that she's better off without her past. [VI. Locke and Terra, before Figaro. One shot.]


**a m a r a n t h i n e**

She isn't really _beautiful_, exactly, being too unconventional to ever be described using that word. But she's... striking? That doesn't fit either, but he can't quite find a way to describe her.

She catches his eye in much the same way that Rachel did, and for all the wrong reasons. He says that it's got something to do with her amnesia and how that reminds him of Rachel, but honestly - when he's around her, Rachel's the farthest thing from his mind. He's got to focus on _her_ when he's around her, on making sure that she's okay and that she's not getting left behind or trapped or captured. She can handle herself well enough in battle; it's when they're not fighting that she seems so frail.

She's like a porcelain doll, lovely and breakable and utterly alone. He wants to help her, wants to make everything better in the way he couldn't when it was Rachel who needed him... He wants to prove that he can do _something _right. And this is the first time he can remember anyone truly relying completely on him, the first time that he's ever been the only person who _can _help, and he isn't entirely sure what to do.

Of course, Arvis just threw him a pack and sent him on his way, so he only has enough food for one, but he can shut his stomach up, and she needs the extra anyway. It feels pretty good, actually, even with his stomach's grumbling, to hand her his share and watch that little smile start at the corner of her lips. Like she wants to thank him, but doesn't really know how. It actually feels pretty good to lean back and point out star formations and explain to her what Figaro is like. It feels pretty good to pretend that this is all there is.

It's hard to believe that this little china doll killed people; she seems hardly capable of fighting off a wolf, let alone blasting away people's lives. It's hard to think that this terrible Imperial Witch everyone was going on about is so... tiny. She can't be more than eighteen, and not a very big eighteen at that. He somehow expected someone more intimidating when he found her lying on the floor of the cave. He half-thought she was going to leap up and incinerate him when she woke up.

But she flinched when he turned to her, and he suddenly wondered how she could have hurt anyone. She seemed (and seems) so helpless.

She doesn't say much, but he gets the feeling that she's burning to ask him all sorts of questions about everything. It's just that look on her face, when a flock of birds swept by earlier or when it began to rain, like she had never seen or felt anything like this before, and that this was all such a wonderful new experience. And, really, she hasn't seen anything like this, which isn't as sad as it should be.

He has a strange feeling that she's better off without her past. It sounds cruel, but it isn't everyday that people get the chance to start everything over with a clean slate. He's starting to think that she should probably be grateful for it, and go about making herself a new life without worrying over what she might have done once. If she can't remember it, then no one can really blame her for it, right?

He glances at her. She's staring into the fire almost like she's waiting for something, the flickering light diminishing her even further. He wants to reach out and touch her, to maybe remind her that she's not alone - no matter what has happened or will happen, she won't be alone - but something stops him. Decency, maybe, or possibly a late-blooming shyness. Really, he's afraid she'll flinch again.

Someone told him once that you could always tell what sort of past an animal had by how it reacts to you. If it's affectionate and friendly, then it was well cared-for and loved. If it's lazy and friendly, then it was probably owned by someone less energetic but still loving. If it was violent, then it was taught to be violent. If it was timid, it was abused and is afraid to be struck again. But if she doesn't remember her past, how can it still affect her?

Her hands clutch almost convulsively at her necklace.

Yeah, she's definitely better off without her past.  
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(A/N: It's been a long time since I've played VI - so forgive any mistakes - but I wanted to write Locke and I've always loved the interaction between him and Terra. Review if you like.)


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